Stefanie W. answered • 12/15/19
Life Learning with a Sociology Enthusiast
Being able to understand and apply "the sociological perspective" is important for excelling in sociology courses. Derived from sociologist C. Wright Mills, "the sociological imagination" argues that our thoughts, behaviors, and lived experiences unfold through relationships over time and across space. That is, who we are and who we become are shaped by to whom we are born, where we are born, as well as the range of lived experiences from early childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. From this view, no thought nor behavior occurs in a vacuum, but shapes and is shaped by a larger context.
What is a social context? A social context refers to an environment or status position in which we exist. Examples of environment include: our neighborhood, school, work, or club/organization. Time and place are also contexts. Living in the south during the 2000's is much different than living in the south during the 1800's, for instance. Specific examples of social statuses include: race, gender, family background (class), employee, or even being a student. Each of these status positions has a set of cultural expectations that inform our identity, in turn, influencing how we think, behave, make decisions, and interact with others.
Therefore, using our sociological imagination allows us to see that what we experience "personally," like divorce, being the first to go to college, or experiencing incarceration, are not as personal as we think. That many of our lived experiences are shared by others, because it reflects larger problems in our society. For instance, affordability is a very important factor shaping many students' college decisions, regardless of background. While it appears that these are "personal troubles," exercising our sociological imagination reveals that these "individual challenges," in part, resemble issues with income and wealth disparities in the broader society. That large scale inequality, in part, influences college decision beyond the individual itself.
From this view, "thinking sociologically" allows us to dispel myths and stereotypes about individuals and groups by redirecting our attention to how context matters. Anytime you theorize, or explain, how context matters for our thought, behavior, decisions, interactions, and identity, you are thinking sociologically!
I hope you find this helpful! Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have questions!
Always thinking sociologically,
Stefanie "The Sociology Enthusiast"
